Water drips down to Plains farmers

But deal won't help those who need to irrigate from wells

Jerd Smith And Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 20, 2006 at midnight

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Water from the Western Slope began flowing to parched Eastern Plains farmers Friday night, but there was no guarantee it would save crops hit hard by a state-ordered irrigation well shutdown.

"I don't want to give our farmers false hope," said Tom Cech, manager of the Central Colorado Conservancy District. "This doesn't mean our members can turn on their wells," he said.

Two weeks ago, the state shut down 440 wells that draw from the aquifer that feeds the South Platte River.

The move stemmed from a 2002 lawsuit in which more than a dozen Front Range cities and farmers who rely on South Platte surface water successfully forced well owners to reduce the amount they were pumping.

Without well water, more than $1 million in new crops, many in Weld County, are in jeopardy. At least one expert has said the crops will start dying next week if they don't get water.

For the past week, well owners and cities have been desperately trying to work out a deal to bring water from the West Slope.

Friday night, 10,000 acre feet from the Windy Gap Project near Granby began flowing. "We turned on the pumps tonight," said Brian Werner, spokesman for Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District.

That water will help those farmers who can can take delivery from the river and apply it straight to their fields.

But farmers who rely solely on irrigation wells will get no relief because the state, three Front Range cities and some surface-water farmers have not signed off on an overall agreement. Their wells cannot start pumping again without the approval of the main objectors, including Boulder, Sterling and Highlands Ranch.

"In seven short days we got the pumps turned on, (but) the details are still in their hands," said Werner, referring to the ongoing negotiations between well owners, cities and other parties.

Cech agreed the Western Slope water doesn't end the crisis.

"We have not reached an agreement with the state engineer or the objectors," Cech said. "If we can work out the details next week, we may be able to restart the wells."

Reached late Friday, Carol Ellinghouse, Boulder's water resources coordinator, said it was news to her that the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District was turning on the water.

Ellinghouse reiterated that Boulder and 35 other objectors still are reviewing the overall water supply proposal.Boulder has done its preliminary analysis of the plan, but needs more information, Ellinghouse said.

"They didn't give us enough information to evaluate it," she said. "Things like which particular wells are going to be turned on and which will be left off. They said some will be on and some will be off, so it's pretty basic information like that that was missing."

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